Evgeniy Sedov

When your hands grow from the right place, life is more fun :)

Content

Human health directly depends on nutrition. Eating foods with GMOs or grown with the use of pesticides and fertilizers leads to irreversible consequences for the body. Modern agronomists propose to turn to the experience of our ancestors, to make the basis agriculture natural farming.

Organic farming - what is it?

Ecological farming differs from traditional soil cultivation by its gentle approach to natural ecosystems existing in nature. The use of pesticides and deep cultivation has become detrimental to the land, reduced fertility, disrupted the natural cycle of substances, and negated the benefits of worms and microorganisms. Eco-farming is based on the awareness of the free interaction between soil, plants, animals, and organic residues, while humans should play the role of a helper, not a pest.

Organic Farming Basics

The principles and basics of organic farming are easy to understand and are as follows:

1. The earth is a living organism, the structure of which should not be disturbed. Intensive cultivation of the arable layer, excessive digging, loosening, mineralization, and other agricultural work are very labor-intensive and lead to high material costs with low efficiency. Natural farming on a farm or garden leads to minimal expenses, while allowing you to harvest good harvest.
2. Mulching is the main method to improve soil quality and create favorable conditions for the natural system. Mulch is straw, sawdust, hay, fallen leaves, roots and trimmed weeds - everything that covers the beds on top protects the black soil from excessive evaporation of moisture, erosion and hypothermia.
3. Reasonable feeding, which is designed not to destroy beneficial microbes, fungi that utilize organic matter, and give them the opportunity to multiply, suppress pathogenic bacteria, fix mineral elements, and process everything that can serve as natural humus.

Agriculture according to Ovsinsky

The initiator of the breakup with in the classic way Russian scientist I.E. began digging up the garden. Ovsinsky, author of many scientific works, agronomist by training. Farming according to Ovsinsky is an ideal way to allow the earth to recover itself without interfering with the natural course of nature. As evidence, the innovative breeder in 1899 wrote the work “New Farming System”, in which he argued for minimal plow intervention in the soil structure, which ensures environmental friendliness environment and obtaining high-quality, safe products.

Organic farming - Kizima method

Galina Kizima can be considered a modern authority on the benefits of organic farming. Having received her PhD degree, the woman seriously took up issues of increasing productivity through the correct approach to soil cultivation practices. Organic farming using the Kizima method has become widespread and is described in books and articles. The basic principle of her garden is the three “don’ts”: don’t weed, don’t dig, don’t water. The author introduced the concept of a “smart” garden bed into use, personal experience proved the effectiveness of her method.

Organic farming – beds

Create conditions for plants in the beds similar to those existing in wildlife, the agricultural technology of natural farming is called upon. The goals of the method: improving the quality and volume of the harvest, preserving natural fertility while saving time and effort. To bring this idea to life, the following are used:

• gentle loosening of the top 5-7 cm of soil in spring and autumn;
• the use of exclusively organic fertilizers in the garden plot, including compost, manure, humus, green manure, as well as microbiological developments;
• biological products, agricultural products that protect plants from pests and diseases.

Organic farming - where to start

The question of when and where to start organic farming is increasingly asked by rural residents and owners of garden plots. The answer is encouraging: transfer your household farming to a completely new system, known as “organic beds”, can be used at any time of the year, but the most suitable is considered autumn period. In practice, the main task of agriculture will be the rapid restoration of the top fertile layer, the correct selection of protective equipment, maintaining the natural ecosystem, and preserving it in this state through basic actions.

Natural farming in the garden - practice

Periodic, deep digging is not acceptable if your goal is organic farming in the country. The desire for ideal soil cultivation spoils the land and produces reverse effect, making it heavy, dry, lifeless, hard as stone. As practice shows, this can be avoided using certain techniques:

• divide the area into small beds, depending on the species composition of the plants that will be planted;
• try to cover the soil with natural, organic materials, since bare soil is unprotected and less fertile;
• Regularly mulch the soil to a depth of at least 10 cm, which will reduce the growth of weeds, protect plants from pests and exposure to ultraviolet radiation, and ensure long-term retention of moisture in the soil.

Adherents of organic farming claim that it is quite possible to obtain a high yield of environmentally friendly and tasty vegetable products without digging up the soil or using mineral fertilizers and other chemicals. And this despite the fact that the labor intensity of the soil cultivation process is reduced by 2-3 times compared to traditional farming. However, why are industrial agricultural producers unable to see such obvious advantages of such technology? The fact is that natural farming in its pure form is associated with a number of serious disadvantages.

Myth No. 1. Manure is an ideal means of restoration and... However, manure contains weed seeds that do not die in the stomach of livestock. As a result, vegetable growers, annually fertilizing the garden with such organic matter, find more and more new types of weeds in it, which neither they nor their neighbors had previously encountered. In addition, fresh organic matter may contain microorganisms dangerous to plants, helminth larvae and pests. To destroy grass seedlings, it is necessary to constantly weed the beds, otherwise the weeds will certainly choke out the slowly germinating dill, parsley, onions, lettuce, and beets. Even cabbage grown through seedlings and potatoes lose very noticeably in yield without weekly weeding.

Myth No. 2. Moldless cultivation of garden soil can significantly reduce the number of weeds on the site. In general, the above statement is true only in one case: if your six acres are surrounded by wasteland devoid of vegetation and you put maximum effort into fighting weeds, not allowing them to become infested. And, of course, you should completely abandon the direct application of manure to the soil (which is a difficult task for a real “organist”). To prevent weeds from germinating, their seeds must be at a depth of at least 15-25 centimeters. The only technique that allows this to be achieved is plowing the soil with rotation of the layer with further cultivation. This event is also intended to promote more uniform sowing of seeds of cultivated plants. Of course, flat-cut tillage also has many advantages, which can be found in detail in the article “”).

Myth No. 3: Digging and plowing using specialized equipment is more expensive, both in terms of man-hours and financially, than non-tillage. This was the opinion of the famous popularizer of natural farming, I.E. Ovsinsky. Unfortunately, he did not take into account the labor costs of maintaining the soil free of weeds and the need for regular loosening. In addition, he invariably allocated a third of the available sown area to black fallow. And this, in turn, implied the need to cut weeds with a flat cutter or other tool every couple of weeks, and in rainy summers - after every rain. Needless to say, not every owner summer cottage agree to allow a third of its area to remain empty, and even spend so much effort on systematically controlling weeds on idle land.

Myth No. 4. By growing on the plot, you can ensure cultivated plants optimal balanced diet. In fact, there is a certain amount of truth in these words: if you alternate planting vegetables with wide strips sown, then in small areas you can get quite satisfactory results. However, in this case, you will have to forget about record harvests: after all, the planting area in this case is reduced by 2 or even 3 times. And since green manure grows slowly and requires additional watering (or even weeding), such a system will also require significant investment of labor. Knowledgeable vegetable growers may nod in the direction of E. Faulkner, who, to eradicate weeds covered the soil with almost mature green manure. But the method he proposed involved exclusively manual labor, and plant residues embedded in the rough soil absorbed nitrogen from it, thereby depriving cultivated plants.

Myth No. 5. You can and should use leaves from the forest, grass from meadows or forest edges, and sawdust. However, “organists” prefer not to focus on the fact that such organic matter is taken from outside. Just imagine that in order to cultivate one hundred square meters of land, it is necessary to collect plant residues from 20 acres. Thus, surrounding nature begins to suffer from such predatory plunder of its resources: tree roots are exposed, they die prematurely, and the mycelium of many mushrooms disappears. As for and, they are certainly suitable for the role. But, firstly, they are not recommended to be introduced into the soil without prior preparation, and, secondly, they still cost some (sometimes very significant) money.

Organic farming, of course, has many undeniable advantages, the main one of which is the production of environmentally friendly and certainly healthy vegetables and fruits. And the weakest point of this soil science system seems to be its relatively low yield compared to the required time and labor. A compromise solution would be to use integrated farming, that is, increasing the fertility of garden soil using all types of fertilizers, taking into account the current characteristics of the soil and the need of the crops for certain nutrients. I invite all readers to discuss this topic in the comments, and those who do not want to click on the keys, I ask you to express your opinion on this topical issue in the vote with one single click.

Natural farming methods are not only a way to provide your family with healthy food, it is a way to reduce your carbon footprint, preserve biodiversity and improve the environment. Here is a selection of the most popular articles on permaculture and organic farming this year.

Warm beds are a key component of no-till farming. Let's take a practical look at how to organize such beds without digging up the soil and get a good harvest.

We present to you a selection of free and shareware programs and applications that make it possible to plan the planting of vegetables on your site.

Properly organized proximity of vegetables in the beds can allow you to reap a good harvest, and will also protect the plants from harmful factors. These could be pests or diseases.

Igor Lyadov, a famous gardener who grows rich crops in the harsh Far Eastern climate. Main secret Its success lies in its system of narrow raised beds, which allow for consistently high yields, independent of the vagaries of the weather and the conditions of the site itself.

Dryness has become a common occurrence. Groundwater is receding, rain is becoming less and less, and our beds are the first to suffer from this. Here's a solution to help you retain moisture when your yard doesn't have enough moisture.

This small multi-colored lawn of vegetables near the house helps its owner harvest up to 70 kg of crops. Shawna Coronado demonstrates that landscape design can be not only beautiful, but also edible. With her results, she tries to inspire people to create sustainable farms near their homes. And there is a lot to learn from her.

The design process in permaculture design must include many factors that occur on your site. It is very important to think through everything at once, although implementation may be gradual. So, let's see what are the key ones so as not to miss anything?

Each person has their own vision of what a self-sufficient site should look like and it is very unlikely that there are two sites that follow the same development plan. Some people are afraid of cows, others don't like goats. Some believe that animals should not be sacrificed, others are looking for an opportunity to provide their family with natural products.

Canadian researchers have developed autonomous solar greenhouses for year-round cultivation of vegetables, fruits and more.

The New Zealand short film series covers all stages of organic farming. John and Devoni receive different tasks every week and reveal all the secrets of farming from creating beds to collecting seeds.
How to make a self-sufficient vegetable garden? How to attract children? When and how to sow seeds? How to fertilize and mulch? Lots of interesting permaculture solutions. Watch and learn.

And, as a bonus, 2 more interesting articles, which we could not ignore.

I came across an article here

I took away the following from it:

Third experience.
The ground had also been covered with hay since the fall. I spread it out and warmed the soil a little longer than last time. I waited until the nettles had grown 25 centimeters. Then I mowed the nettles, put them on the potatoes spread out on the ground and covered everything with last year’s hay. Nettle rots, forming mucus, which mice do not like. If there are no nettles, any freshly cut grass will do.

The third experience was the most successful. The main thing is not to be lazy before flowering and once again mulch the emerging potato shoots “over the top.” This will ensure that you have fewer green potatoes and a larger harvest.

1. Using a Fokin flat cutter, shave off a patch measuring 15x15 cm and loosen it a little to plant the tuber.
2. Place the tuber or eye, sprouts up.
3. If you have old rotten sawdust or some kind of humus (if you don’t mind and want to increase the yield), then you can lightly sprinkle the tuber on top. If not, then simply sprinkle it with soil obtained from loosening.
4. If it’s still spring and the soil hasn’t warmed up, you can leave it like that for a week (just so it doesn’t dry out!). If the soil is heated (or not heated, but you don’t need big harvest) – immediately cover with freshly cut grass, in a layer of 10-15 cm (nettle is ideal, but other herbs will do).
5. Cover freshly cut grass with last year's old hay so that the fresh grass rots and does not dry out (this is important, since mice always want to eat).
6. In the summer, before flowering, you can once again fill it with hay, freshly cut or any other (we will talk about hay below).
7. All that remains is to collect the tubers in the fall. There are also some nuances here.

Sunday, July 24, 2016

I suffered for a long time with the standard sickle handles - they constantly fall off and fly out. Finally got ready - took polypropylene water pipes, welder, epoxy. The handles turned out to be comfortable - I advise you to make them too.
Price issue
It took about 50 grams of epoxy for 2 handles - that’s 40 rubles
Polypropylene pipe 32mm took 40 cm for 2 handles - that’s 60 rubles
Polypropylene plugs 32mm 4 pcs for 2 handles - 48 RUR
In total, each pen cost 74 rubles.

It is better to take the diameter of pipes and plugs 32 mm - it fits better and more comfortably in the hand

Friday, June 10, 2016

Hello, dear readers of the organic, nature-conforming farming blog site - “To the garden, everyone to the garden!!!” Organic farming continues. Alena bought different seedlings. Came by mail to at its best. I was left without a car because it was damaged in an accident. Relatives helped bring the seedlings to the site. I'm getting used to public transport again. You can hear a lot of things on the bus while you're driving. Nobody says anything about natural, organic farming. The contingent is mainly elderly. Seasoned and a supporter of frequent watering, total weeding, and hard digging. Nothing can convince them. Plum and cherry seedlings were temporarily planted in the bed where zucchini grew last year. Alena will come later and determine which ones will need to be transplanted where. I will plant potatoes in this bed. Under the straw. When I was digging holes, I came across a half-ripe piece of board, which I threw at the bottom of the bed when I started the compost heap. There, under the garden bed, there is generally a lot of woody debris. Old raspberry trunks, all sorts of trimmings. The seedlings have all taken root. However, I blindly mowed one cherry later. Which I regret immensely. Alena, I'm sorry...

This is the third ten days of April. It was warm. Spring is exceptional. This is what overwintered beds look like. Experts say that in order for the soil in the beds to warm up faster, the mulch needs to be moved. Maybe this is extra work? It bakes so much that everything that can is already warmed up. Again, we do not claim early harvests. I think that if the soil warms up a week later, then so be it. It's not that important. I did not measure the soil temperature. There's just nothing. It would be interesting though. And the ancient ones folk remedies inconvenient to check. After all, you have to sit on her with your bare bottom. The neighbors don’t understand us anyway, and then if they see such a picture, then in general... Although the method is certainly good, but what’s more, it’s simply brilliant. Don't laugh, this method really existed. So what, the sailors over there recognize the direction of the wind with a licked finger raised to the sky. The main thing here is that the old methods work, they work...

At the beginning of June the lilacs bloomed. A classic plant for Western Siberian gardens. Everyone has it. Not just one bush at a time. We decided not to lag behind. This is a varietal, with a white edging on the flowers. The photo does not convey the color. The old lilac is unkempt. It has grown wildly, and even makes it difficult to enter the outbuilding. I did not uproot it. It's a pity. Let it grow. I simply cultivated it by cutting out the oldest branches. It would be good to carry out such a procedure with an apple tree. I don't know how. The Internet doesn’t say anything very clearly about this. I would spread it across the trellis, however...

Lilac, by the way, is a close relative of the olive. A cousin, you might say. A colossal selection of varieties. And then the light didn’t converge like a wedge on the coloring. The shapes of the flowers themselves, their sizes. There are a great many of them. Only roses and rhododendrons have more varieties in quantity.

This is how you should spend time outside the city. First half of June. The cycle of furniture in nature. This sofa has a birch wood look. In its place in the house is an old sofa from a city apartment. Typically, there are almost no mosquitoes. Crows in bulk. Also loud.

In the foreground is a peony bush. Not blooming yet. We have a lowland, and even shade from birch trees. But the jasmine was planted in a sunny place. He barely grew for two years. It was enough to transplant it into the shade, and over the summer a decent bush grew. This year the hosta behaved very well. Nobody ate it. Cover plants grow little by little.

These are the irises Alena bought and planted at the dacha. Only the place is not very good. You can’t think of a better place for them. But they are not visible. It needs to be replanted. And the lawn in front of the house is inconvenient to mow. They interfere. Well, after the mediocrely mown varietal cherry purchased and planted this season, I’m simply complex...

Irises seem to me like some kind of aristocratic flowers. Very refined. Isn't it? And the plant is edible. That's all aristocracy is. I roast the seeds, grind them, and brew them like coffee. They say it tastes like coffee and is reminiscent of it.

This is what greenery looks like in mid-June. Quite a commodity. On the right is arugula. I really like her. Remained in the garden all summer, until autumn. It has grown quite well. Fresh lettuce was planted in place of the lettuce. Nothing was pulled out of the ground. They cut it carefully. That is, the roots are all in the ground. I watered it several times over the summer. I mowed the grass every one and a half to two weeks. The less often you mow, the larger the fractions. The larger the fractions, the longer it takes to decompose by microorganisms. There is no chopper.

You can see the row on the left Chinese cabbage. Has grown. Ate. And we are not alone. Often planted, I think. It was necessary to more actively mix the plantings on this ridge.

Mid June. They left the potatoes as they were. It's not serious. It is necessary to be more careful in choosing seed material. In general, you should try to grow it from seeds or leaves. There will be elite planting material. Although there is nowhere to store it. I planted potatoes in the garden for the first time. Looks funny. I added a little bit. Just a little. Mulch from grass clippings. Didn't hill up. The harvest is normal. I didn’t weed, of course. I planted marigolds between the potato bushes. There were no Colorado ones. It seems to me that the mulch also acts as hilling. That little bush has almost caught up with the rest. Instead of hilling, each bush was spread out from the center, and mulch was added to the middle.

On July 23rd the first potato harvest of this year was harvested. It's funny. I walked around, lifted the mulch, and looked at how much the tubers had grown under it. I plan to stock up on quality planting material for next year. Pre-hold the tubers in the sun. Solanine will only help. If possible, water it drip-wise.

The simplest and most delicious dish. With sour cream, of course, and finely chopped herbs. You can mash it with butter, herbs, and crushed garlic cloves. You can eat a lot without harming your figure. The number of calories in fresh, young potatoes is surprisingly low. But as soon as it gets starchy, that’s it. Chock full of carbs...

And in general, scientists had to conduct quite a lot of research to find substances in potatoes that are definitely beneficial for humans. Well, how can this be?

This is the second half of September. There is a lawnmower in the background. The paths between the beds are selected in width so that they can pass easily. The paths are also mulched. In any weather, you can walk through the garden without getting dirty. And these are the marigolds that grew after the potatoes. Some phacelia also grow there. Phacelia has characteristic feature. None of our garden plants are related to her. It can be sown after any garden crops. In turn, and after it, you can sow whatever you want. This year I saw bees on the phacelia. The first year they appeared. There have always been bumblebees. I want to build houses for bumblebees. There are projects in Runet.

Pay attention to the background. Where the rusty barrel is. Behind the chain-link fence is the neighbor's vegetable garden. Do you see what kind of soil? She stands naked all summer. Not a single speck. Everything is clean. It’s terrible how much work, blood pressure units, both systolic and diastolic, overheating in the sun. The summer was oh so sunny.

Our barrel is also rusty and leaky. I bought an insert for a hundred rubles. The thing is effective. The water is clear, warm and clean. By the end of summer it did bloom.

But Japanese irises seem to be in their place. They are generally ideal for our suburban area. This variety of irises tolerates the most severe drought. It blooms at the same time. Well, if you water it at least a couple of times during flowering...

It seems that they are not very winter-hardy, but our two Japanese irises begin their active growing season early, and have never frozen out. Maybe they are saved by the fact that the place where they are planted is heavily covered with snow. They love illuminated places and are considered aquatic plants. In Japan, fields with irises are flooded with water, like rice fields. But only during flowering. His thirst during flowering is excellent...

As I expected last year, a hedgehog appeared in the garden. The food chain in action. True, last year there was still a hamster. Arrogant, fat, red-haired. But it seems that we managed to get rid of it using simple methods.

The hedgehog appeared only in the evening. This is his way of life. He probably hears and smells well. The darkness is not a hindrance to him. In the garden it feeds on small animals such as slugs, caterpillars, and worms.

Should have been left unattended plastic bag with chicken bones, as he immediately switched to it. I gnawed the bones white. So be it. He needs to accumulate fat for hibernation. Otherwise there is a risk of not surviving the winter. Looks like he lives under the veranda. I placed a large cup of water in the garden between the beds. Let them drink. I saw a frog near the cup, and it was buried there. It's like a mini pond.

Third ten days of August. In the summer, for decades now, I have been going to visit my brother. My brother lives in Novokuznetsk. Not even in Novokuznetsk, but at a dacha near Novokuznetsk. Not far from Karlyk. Last year, for obvious reasons, he was not a guest. This happened. I was surprised. His wife grew the grapes. It tastes like grapes, and looks even more so. Not sour. The peel is thick, but chews well. I also caught fire for something.

But it seems to me that this is not a very simple task. The fact that we have grapes Western Siberia grows and bears fruit, that's a fact. Among other things, the taste is tolerable. Only, apparently, a variety needs to be selected, zoned, and intended for beginners. Know how to plant it and take care of it again. But very interesting. We'll try it over time. We'll definitely try it.

I literally just wrote this line, and in a search I found a person who has been successfully growing grapes in Novosibirsk for a long time. You can even order seedlings through the website. A vine will stand perfectly in place of chocolate irises. It’s warm there, and the veranda will be woven in a utilitarian way. Although the veranda at level zero has stalled...

View of the plot from the garden.